James Hardie cladding and new porch installation in Bromley, South London

Readers of a certain age will recall that popular Danny Kaye song from the 1950s, “The Ugly Duckling,” in which the little bird is transformed into “a very fine swan indeed.”

Well, that could equally apply to this detached 1960s house in Bromley, Kent, where Summit Cladding has been at work!

Our clients, Steve and Liz, moved in recently, attracted to the area by the local schools, shops and other facilities. And although the property was well situated with good sized rooms, the exterior was severely lacking in kerb appeal.

There was a very dated stone-clad pillar holding up the porch, with an equally dated flat roof, and the original timber cladding on the walls was showing its age with peeling paint all over.

Inspired by a neighbour’s makeover

Steve and Liz had driven around the local roads and come across a house very similar to theirs in original design, but which had clearly been given a radical makeover. Seizing the moment, they knocked on the door and asked who had done the work – and that’s how Steve and Liz found out about Summit Cladding!

Their vision was very clear. They wanted us to transform their ugly house the same way we had done with their neighbours’ home.

We got to work by removing that stone-clad pillar on the porch and replacing it with a brick pillar to match the main fabric of the house. Then we removed the original flat roof and replaced it with a bespoke pitched roof supported by a new steel beam, with tiles to match the main house roof.

Preparation for the James Hardie Cladding

When all the existing timber cladding at the front and back of the house had been stripped off we fitted a 25mm layer of Kingspan insulation to the block walls, to improve energy efficiency and warmth, followed by a breathable vapour barrier and wooden battens.

On to this we fitted James Hardie composite cladding in the colour Cobblestone, together with all the edging and specially designed manufacturer’s trims around the window frames. Finally, all the original timber fascias, soffits and gutters were taken down, with replacements made of maintenance-free UPVC supplied by Swish Building Plastics.

Steve and Liz were amazed by the transformation and very emotional when they saw the improvement. No longer the ugly duckling of the street, they now have a very fine property indeed!

Categorised in: James Hardie Cladding, Roofing

This post was written by Summit Cladding